Break-ins

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 16, 2012

BPD: arrests of juveniles stops store break-ins


By Billy Davis

Three juveniles are in custody and facing charges for allegedly burglarizing six businesses and a residence, all in Batesville.

The arrests made last Friday ended a six-month string of burglaries, said BPD Detective George Williford.

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Two of the juveniles are 15 and one is 14, he said.

“We plan to prosecute them as adults,” Williford said.

The juveniles are charged with break-ins at the Mi Pueblo and Café Ole restaurants, C & E Café, Corner Store (formerly Crowson’s), and an attempted burglary at Flint’s Hardware. The home burglary was on Garson Street, said the detective.

The commercial burglaries followed the same smash-and-grab pattern — breaking a window to gain entry.
Williford credited a “concerned citizen” for recognizing one of the juveniles from surveillance footage of the Mi Pueblo break-in that was posted on The Panolian’s Web site.

The footage showed a black male snatching a cash register drawer from inside the restaurant while a second black male ate candy.

A burglary at a Mr. Jiffy store that occurred hours after the Mi Pueblo break-in is still under investigation, Williford said.